Sunday, November 22, 2009

Marking the third best weekend opening of all time, Summit Entertainment’s female-driven sequel “New Moon” grossed an estimated $140.7 million from 4,024 theaters at the domestic B.O.Moreover, “New Moon” led what’s expected to be the second-best weekend ever at the domestic B.O. in terms of overall ticket sales, trailing only the weekend that Warner Bros.’ “The Dark Knight” opened, and that was in summer.

Assisting this weekend’s boom was Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment’s sports drama “The Blind Side,” which far overperformed in opening to an estimated $34.5 million from 3,110 locations.

Sony’s toon “Planet 51” debuted to a $12.6 million from 3,035 runs to come in No. 4, beat out for third by Sony’s own “2012,” which grossed a hefty $26.5 million in its soph sesh for a cume of $108.2 million.

“New Moon” snagged both the best midnight gross ever, as well as best first day gross, reflecting the strength of the franchise’s fanbase. Friday midnight runs generated $26.3 million in grosses, while the full Friday number topped out at $72.7 million, besting the $67.2 million grossed by “Dark Knight.”